“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

In other words, if you just live for this world – its goods and pleasures and treasures – you’re in deep trouble. Because you are worshipping an idol – “stuff.” And that stuff decays and goes away – just as you will.

Instead, we are to seek God first and foremost, and our treasure is to be His smile. We live to please Him, whether that brings us wealth, or poverty, on earth. Because earth-time is very short compared to eternity.

Our hearts are made to treasure God. We are degraded and foolish when we seek to store up – selfishly and faithlessly – this world’s goods. If you live for stuff, your religious “-ism” is materialism.

So – does that mean we should avoid the practice of saving money? In a word, no. It means we are to avoid worshipping and loving money.

But that doesn’t mean a believer is reckless about money. The Bible is clear that an essential part of good stewardship is the practice of saving. Saving is driven by a wise and prudent understanding of the reality of life.

Here’s the main thing at the foundation of all of our practice – are we saving? Or hoarding? Is all that we are, and all that we possess, surrendered to God? The Bible is very clear on this – we cannot love God and money. It’s either/or.

The selfish miser is bankrupt before God (hello, Ebenezer Scrooge!). God saves us, first of all, from our idolatry. Only then do we become able to save money responsibly, for the right reasons and right motives (which we’ll discuss in subsequent posts).

Where is your treasure? Your bank account and your attachment to “stuff” will tell me the story of where your heart truly is.

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* This series is part of a 12-week study on the topic: Being Stewards of God <— (outline). We’re now in week 9, considering the role of prudently saving (though not hoarding) money. If you’d like to receive these posts in your inbox, just put your email address in the Email Subscription box on the blog’s right sidebar.